Dad clenched his hand on the arm of the chair, holding Bastian’s fiery gaze. “They’re also the same people who have tried to steal Battle Industries’ artificial intelligence software. Drake is in danger. This is a precarious time for all of us. You will get everything I promised you, Bastian.” He pointed his finger across the room. “Now, take your seat and let me finish.”
Bastian stepped back, his eyes wandering around the room as if it had just hit him that his outburst was unnecessary and aimed at the wrong person. My dad had adopted Bastian and Damian when they had nothing left. He gave them a home, a family, and welcomed them into The Devil’s Knights. We never treated them as if they weren’t Salvatores by blood.
“Sorry.” Bastian loosened his silk tie. “I’m just… frustrated.”
“It’s okay, son.” He tipped his head at the couch. Bastian sat, and then my dad continued, “There’s a lot at stake. First, we have to locate Lorenzo and Savanna and neutralize the threat. Once the new head of the Sicilian family is in place, we will work with our Mafia counterparts to bring down The Lucaya Group.”
The Lucaya Group had disappeared from the map close to fifteen years ago, with only a few random appearances over the years. And once they vanished, they were untraceable. Considered the best in the business, they were a terrorist organization funded by the deepest pockets in the world. But we could draw them out of hiding using Bastian’s cousin.
She went by the name Grace Hale, but she was born Katarina Adams Romanov. The girl didn’t know she was the only living granddaughter of Fitzgerald Archibald Adams IV, Bastian’s grandfather and the leader of The Founders Society.
“Get Drake on the phone.” Luca aimed his attention at me. “See if he can dig up intel on Lorenzo using his AI software. I’m sure someone on the Dark Web is talking about what went down on the island.”
I removed the cell phone from my pocket. Drake was the same age as Luca, but we’d grown closer over the years. We were both into technology and got off on poking our noses into places we weren’t supposed to be. He’d taught me how to hack, though I wasn’t anywhere near Drake’s level.
My fingers glided across the keys as I looked at my father. “We need to move the wedding up.”
“About that.” His gaze moved between us. “Did Alexandrea choose yet?”
“Yes,” Luca cut in. “She chose all of us. But she will marry me.”
His left eyebrow rose a few inches. “Do you expect me to let my sons share the same woman?” He shook his head. “I’m not okay with this arrangement.”
“You don’t have to be,” Luca shot back. “We didn’t intend for this to happen. But Alex wouldn’t agree to marry me if she had to choose between us.”
His nose wrinkled in disgust. “I raised the four of you better. Your mother would roll over in her grave if she were here to witness this atrocity.”
“I don’t think Mom would have cared,” I said in our defense. “As long as we are happy.”
He knew I was right and ignored my statement. “Carl will not approve of the wedding if all of you declare your intention to marry her.”
“She’ll marry me,” Luca confirmed. “That’s all anyone outside of this family will ever know.”
Dad looked at me and shook his head. “I expected more from you, Marcello.” Then he moved to Damian. “I always knew you wouldn’t live a normal life, not with your illness.”
“I can’t let her go,” Damian told him, with a stern expression hardening his dark features. “She’s the only woman who understands me.”
He nodded his acceptance.
None of us had expected Damian to have a normal relationship. Not with all of his emotional and mental baggage.
Dad moved to Bastian. “You’re an Adams. There are certain rules for men like you. Fitzgerald won’t allow you to be with Alex, not while she’s Luca’s wife.”
“I don’t give a fuck what Fitzy wants,” he fired back, irritation dripping from his tone. “The old man can go to hell. I’m sick of him trying to dictate my life.”
“The carrier is on their way to the house with the paternity test results.” Luca shoved his cell phone into his pocket. “We’ll know soon which of us fathered the child.”
Dad let out another disgusted groan and stiffened in his chair. “It better be yours, Luca. Or we’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.”
It was the moment of truth. As Luca held the envelope in his hand, my entire body trembled with a strange mixture of fear and excitement. While everyone lounged on the couches in the sitting room, Damian looked like he was ready to jump out of his skin.
“Do you want to do the honors, my queen?” Luca handed me the envelope and made room for himself on the couch beside me.
Bastian placed his hand on my thigh. I could tell he wanted so badly to be the father of the baby. Marcello, too. They both had this hopeful look in their eyes. Luca didn’t seem like he cared one way or the other, but it wasn’t easy to read him. He was a lot like his father in that regard.
Damian paced in front of me, biting the inside of his cheek as he wore down the floorboards. He was tense all afternoon, and even worse at dinner. Because he knew the carrier was on their way with the results.
I slid my trembling finger beneath the fold of the envelope. It felt like the longest second of my life as I removed the paper and unfolded it.